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Taylor County approves budget amendment to advance Hodgees Park design; sign replacement funding to be evaluated
Summary
Taylor County commissioners approved a first amendment to a subrecipient agreement to add funding to the Hodgees Park rehabilitation project and authorized staff to pursue design‑build procurement; commissioners also asked staff to investigate funding options to replace a storm-damaged park sign and include original commissioners' names.
Taylor County commissioners voted Jan. 5 to approve a first amendment to a consortium subrecipient agreement for the rehabilitation of Hodgees Park that staff said will fund hiring an engineering firm for design‑build services and increase the resiliency of materials used at the site. The agenda record lists the budget increase as “726,54” (the transcript truncates the figure; the full amount was not specified in the meeting record).
County staff told the board the amendment will allow the county to advertise for an engineer and prepare design‑build documents, but cautioned that approvals and treasury processes can be lengthy. Staff said recent interactions with the funding agency showed approvals can take 12 to 18 months; last year a separate amendment submitted Jan. 22, 2025, was approved in December after roughly 11 months.
During discussion, a commissioner asked whether the park sign that was damaged in a recent storm could be replaced using the amendment funds. Staff and commissioners noted the original sign had been funded with a separate grant (identified in the record as a ‘spurback’ grant), and that the county had previously set aside license‑plate art funds intended for public art. The transcript records a license‑plate fund balance fragment as “$100,” (truncated); staff said they will check guidelines to determine whether those funds could pay for an art‑style replacement sign that includes the names of the original and current commissioners involved in the park renovation.
The board made and approved a motion to adopt the amendment and proceed with staff actions to implement the project (motion/second recorded in the minutes; vote tallies were not specified in the transcript). Staff said they will provide cost information for signage and will undertake the procurement steps required for the design‑build process.
Clarifying details recorded in the meeting — including procurement steps, timeframes and the funding sources discussed — will be reviewed by staff before contracts are advertised. The board did not set a construction start date at the meeting.
